One of my old fraternity brothers, Sox, alerted me to this article from dailyfinance.com about the perils of running shoes. I liked this article because it went into a little bit more depth via scientific study about the jolt shod running puts on your joints, especially the knees.
"Overall, the study finds that while today's running shoes do a good job of protecting the foot, wearing them dramatically increases pressure in three lower-extremity joints -- the hip, knee and ankle -- when compared to running barefoot. For example, researchers note that wearing running shoes while running leads to an average 54% increase in what's called hip internal rotation torque, pressure that may increase the risk of osteoarthritis in the hip joint.
To put things in perspective, walking in high heels -- long considered a joint-busting exercise -- increases knee joint torques (a pressure measurement) by no more than 26%, while the effect of running shoes on knee joint torques while running leads to up to a 38% increase, the researchers say."
This upcoming Sunday I'll be running my second half-marathon, and the first of five in 2010. If you're an earlybird and don't mind cold weather, come out to Central Park as I run two laps in my VFF KSO's. I'll be sure to give a full report not only on how I did, but also on if I spotted any other minimally shod or completely barefooted runners. Until then, exercise smart!
"Overall, the study finds that while today's running shoes do a good job of protecting the foot, wearing them dramatically increases pressure in three lower-extremity joints -- the hip, knee and ankle -- when compared to running barefoot. For example, researchers note that wearing running shoes while running leads to an average 54% increase in what's called hip internal rotation torque, pressure that may increase the risk of osteoarthritis in the hip joint.
To put things in perspective, walking in high heels -- long considered a joint-busting exercise -- increases knee joint torques (a pressure measurement) by no more than 26%, while the effect of running shoes on knee joint torques while running leads to up to a 38% increase, the researchers say."
This upcoming Sunday I'll be running my second half-marathon, and the first of five in 2010. If you're an earlybird and don't mind cold weather, come out to Central Park as I run two laps in my VFF KSO's. I'll be sure to give a full report not only on how I did, but also on if I spotted any other minimally shod or completely barefooted runners. Until then, exercise smart!
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